Night owl dining in San Francisco

Bin 38 is one of a handful of restaurants offering later dining hours.

One of the most pleasant changes in San Francisco dining is that people are starting to dine later. I remember a decade ago, the prime time was 7 p.m.; from what I’m seeing lately, it has moved back to 8 p.m., and on top of that more restaurants, are staying open late.

It used to be most of the late-nighters had to go to Yuet Lee (3 a.m. every night but Sunday), restaurants in Chinatown or all-night diners to have a burger or a bowl of soup.

The first of the new wave restaurants to break the midnight barrier was Globe, which opened in 1997; and it quickly became an industry hangout. Since then others have joined the 1 a.m. brigade, giving the night owl even more options. Those include some of my favorite places such as Nopa, Bin 38, Beretta, Oola and Mexico DF (which stays open until 1:30 Thursday-Saturday). Many others stay open until midnight most nights, including Zuni Cafe, Tres Agaves, Farmer Brown and Brick.

I love the idea of being able to go out late, but you probably won’t see me at any of these places much after 10 p.m. The reality of staying up late (and rising at my normal 5 a.m.) is much less enticing.